I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

god I love this world. It's rich and unique and there isn't a perfectly imperfect character in this novel. I can't wait for more from this author.

The Serpent Sea by Maiya Ibrahim is the second book in the young adult Spice Road Trilogy. Sometimes it’s difficult to appreciate the second book in a trilogy…. Does it simply prolong the plot until we can get to the third and final book? Or does it enhance the world building and the character development? Fortunately, in the case of The Serpent Sea, this second book enhances rather than delays the story. Ibrahim does a phenomenal job setting up the world in The Spice Road (the first book) and for as much as I appreciate this world, I loved being back there in The Serpent Sea.

Just as with the first book, this is a quest/journey tale. A pseudo love triangle continues and we even get a dual POV - that of Imani (the main female character from the first book) and Taha (who is the male character enemy to maybe love interest). I am not normally someone who wants the “villain” to be the chosen lover but Qayn might have converted me. He just seems to be a better match for Imani than Taha.

While the characters were fun, I most enjoyed the continued world building. I find the magic system, political structure, and history to be intriguing and exciting. The prevalence of colonizing and oppression combined with the gatekeeping of magic made the Serpent Sea thought-provoking and engaging.

I absolutely will be continuing this series and as a serial series quitter, this says a lot!

Thank you to Maiya Ibrahim, Random House Children's | Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

"Serpent Sea" takes place hours after the fiery ending of "Spice Road." In book two, it's an intense, harrowing race against the clock to find Qayn's magic before King Glaedric and the Harrowlanders invade the Sahir.

The story was a little long for me but richly detailed and immersive. A vast amount of pivotal information and long-lost secrets unfurl that could change everything and everyone. I liked how complex and far-reaching the conflicts were.

Taha's world turns upside-down as readers dive deeper into the trauma/abuse he still experiences by his father. His internal anguish was hard to read but realistic. I'm interested in seeing how his storyline will end at the conclusion of this series.

What Imani thought she knew about magic begins to stretch infinitesimally. Looking back, it's amazing just how much stronger (literally and figuratively) she became despite how many steps back she had to take to move forward.

I liked the way the author conveyed truth in relation to one's experiences, how just because something hasn't happened or deemed impossible doesn't mean other possibilities aren't possible.

I was a little skeptical about how easily/fast it seemed the Sahirians and Harrowlanders were able to pick up each other's language. And I'm still unsure how I feel about the romance as it's gone from a minor to major part of the story.

"Serpent Sea" was full of twists, setbacks, and surprises that I could not get enough of. This was a very good read and I absolutely can't wait to see how it all ends.

Thanks again to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed The Spice Road, but much of it was world building, with less focus on character development; it really was setting the stage for the rest of the trilogy. The Serpent Sea filled in the holes left behind by The Spice Road. The story continued to be immersive, engaging, and really took off in this book.
The Serpent Sea continues right where we were left hanging after book 1. We are now taken on two separate journeys; one through the eyes of Imani and the other with Taha.
Imani’s magical abilities are growing, with Qayn’s tutelage, as she learns more of how it all works and how to push the boundaries beyond what she initially believed. The magic system truly becomes more interesting as a result. I really enjoyed the growing attraction between Imani and Qayn; their chemistry is undeniable. I loved diving more deeply into Qayn’s character as well, through both Imani’s perspective and their soul bond.
Taha takes the prize for character development in this one! As he embarks on his journey to save his home, we learn so much about him. We learn about his background and motivations, his true feelings for Imani, and watch him grow along the way.
As with book 1, you can expect more surprises and betrayals, but also a more character driven story in comparison.
I recommend this book to lovers of Arabian inspired fantasy and slow burn romance. I am eager to see where book 3 takes us.
Many thanks to Random House, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for a digital advanced copy of the book. The opinons expressed are honest and my own.

Sequel to Spice Road, Serpent Sea picks up where the first book left off. Imani and company try to stop the Harrowlander King, Glaedric, from invading the Sahir and wreaking a path of destruction all across the desert until he reaches their home, Qalia. When that fails and Taha and Amira are captured, Imani and Atheer have only one chance of helping their people - they must help Qayn, the djinni bound to Imani - to regain his magic so he can save the Sahir and drive out the Harrowlander scourge.

But as they work toward this goal, it becomes clear that Qayn is keeping secrets. Imani must decide who she can trust and how far in order to have a chance at saving her beloved home.

This was an excellent second installment, and like all middle books, it broke my heart multiple times and ended on such a cliffhanger that there's no way I won't pick up the final installment.

Although I was able to see one of the larger twists coming, there were enough reveals and smaller plot twists that the story easily held my interest and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. One big change from the first book is that the story isn't only told from Imani's POV, but alternates between her and Taha in joint POVs.

I thought this was a good addition and helped the story, since the two characters were seldom in the same place. It may also be at least partially due to the fact that Taha continues to tug my heartstrings, and may be my favorite character (so far).

Again, I found myself irritated by Amira, who really just seems to show up to be a bratty teenager and throw wrenches in people's plans. Again. There's just really nothing enjoyable about her character and I found myself wishing she wasn't there most of the time. I wasn't really fond of the Princess Blaedwyn character either as she only showed up one time for what amounted to a cameo, and was framed as if she was going to be a major threat...then disappeared and we never heard from her again. She's talked about, but that's it.

For those reasons, I subtract one star. Four stars for me. But who knows? If the trilogy ends on a really satisfying note, and if Amira gets less useless and irritating, I might be back to nudge that rating up. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Delacorte for the advanced reader's copy. This is a voluntary review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book picks up right where Spice Road left off with almost the entire team on the ship. Early on group are forced to separate and go off on their own journeys. As soon as they split up the story once again picked up pace and didn't leave off the gas till the end of the book. This allowed for me to instantly get sucked into the world and story. I went through an emotional rollercoaster with several characters on if I trusted them or not. I enjoyed the addition of some new characters that you just loved to hate and was sad to see some of my favorites go. This instalment definitely lived up to the first book and I can't wait for the last book in the trilogy to come out. I need to know if it's Qayn or Taha who come out on top. I hope it's Qayn as I find his character more compelling. I'd definitely recommend if you're into Middle Eastern fantasy.

I don’t know how to put my feelings in to words at the moment. But I absolutely loved this second installment, maybe even more than the first. A better review coming soon…

In this sequel to Spice Road, Imani, Qayn, Atheer, Taha, and Amira are on a quest to stop the magical monsters from taking over their world. They need to put their past history behind them and team up in order to get the job done. This book was a little slow in parts, but definitely picked up the pace in others. The ending, which seemed to go on and on after the climax to the saga, left me wondering (and not in a good way) if there would be another book in the series. It also took me a very long time to remember the first book in order to connect what was happening in this book. Recommended for those who like fantasy adventure without any spicy romance.

it just felt slow? Like I had to drag myself through it a bit unfortunately

it picked up at the end so I guess we’ll see where we go from here in the next book!

This was a fascinating companion to the first book. Imani is not the only narrator in this book, and it was great hearing other voices during the story. It took us on a journey through cities and sand and water, and I loved every minute of it.i am looking forward to seeing how the story will grow from here.

Tried for a month and a half to finish this but I'm not quite sure if my tastes have changed from me absolutely LOVING the first book or if it's the fault of the sequel itself suffering from Second Book Syndrome.

I DNF'd at 60% cause I was incredibly bored. It felt like the whole book was an unending stream of dialogue with nothing happening. After attempting the audiobook as well, I couldn't even tell who was talking the entire book. Multiple swaps in POVs with narrator changes and the tone seeming to stay consistent throughout leant for a really confusing series of hours.

At the end, I didn't really quite care enough to continue or finish it. Maybe some day I'll get back to this and try again.

3.5 stars

I absolutely loved The Spice Road—the lush world-building and complex characters made it a standout. Naturally, I was thrilled to dive into the sequel. This installment takes the story from the desert to the oceans, delivering high-stakes action against both human and non-human foes. I wasn't so into this one as book 1, but I still enjoyed it. There were some truly incredible moments, scenes that made me kick my feet and giggle. But those great moments were bittersweet because of the issues holding the story back.

While this is a solid second book, it didn’t quite surpass book 1. One of the most jarring elements was the difference in narrative perspectives—Imani’s chapters were in first person while Taha’s were in third. It’s not inherently bad, but I often found myself confused about whose perspective I was reading, which disrupted the flow. There was so much happening that the pacing felt chaotic. We didn’t spend enough time in any one place to fully develop the plot or characters. At the same time, Imani’s storyline dragged compared to Taha’s once they were split up. It all felt rushed and unsatisfying, as though the narrative needed more room to breathe. Characters like Atheer and Amira deserved more attention, and the lack of development left their arcs feeling shallow. To top it off, some of the dialogue came across as amateurish, and certain characters felt like caricatures, which made me skim through parts of the book.

Overall, despite the issues I had it's a strong continuation of the series, I am looking forward to where the story takes us in the next book.

What I enjoyed about the first book was how it was plot-driven with a fast pace, but this was the opposite. I struggled to get through the first half of the book and spent months picking it up and trying again, but I have to say - it was worth it. The beginning was very slow and I found the descriptions of everything to be too much - it made me lose focus. whereas the last third went by pretty quickly and so much was happening. While I did enjoy the story overall, I had issues with the pacing and writing style, but I will b reading the sequel when it comes out.

→ 3 stars

This was a great sequel, and a lot of the first book's plotlines were cleared up, and a few new ones were opened for a third book (I think there's gonna be one??).

- expanded world-building and story-telling, it was written so well!
- Taha's pov! He's such a complex character and this book really goes into his motivations, feelings and his past

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Besides the first few chapters, Serpent Sea was slow to begin and didn't pick up speed until after the 60% mark. The sequel to Spice Road explores Taha's past and tangle of emotions and thoughts as he and Amira are held captive by the Harrowlanders. Imani and Qayn grow closer on their quest to find and retrieve the missing jewels for Qayn's crown in hopes to save their empire. I connected more with Taha in this book compared with Imani as he endured a lot of character development; I am eager to see where his character goes in the next installment. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

I am so incredibly disappointed with this book. The three stars are me having mercy. I’m not sure what changed between the first book and this one, but it wasn’t good. I’m ninety percent sure this book is what causes my reading slump. First of all, the plot and characters were really hard to keep track of. Maybe it’s because I was reading on my Kindle and would stop reading for a long time before continuing, but I just could not keep track of who was who or what was what. Second, the characters we did meet felt dull. I don’t know what it was but I had a much harder time connecting with them in this book compared to the first one. I feel like the characters were almost watered down. Third, the love triangle was so weird. It came out of nowhere and it was honestly gross to read about. Imani and Qayn have no chemistry and even if they did, the way the romance was written was just icky. I felt gross reading their scenes together. Honestly, the love triangle felt pointless too and I don’t think it added much to the story. I don’t know. Maybe I’m a hater. Maybe I’m stupid. I’m just incredibly upset by how little I liked this since I was so excited to be reading it.

This book was absolutely everything! I have been waiting for the release of Serpent Sea since I read the final words on the final page of Spice Road and, you guessed it, now I need the third book ASAP. I have so many questions and I need so many answers, Maiya Ibrahim! This is definitely a series worth reading and waiting for.

I was extremely excited to continue Imani's story, and this book did not disappoint! I wish Taha's POV had been first person like Imani's though. For some reason, I found the 3rd person present tense a little jarring. The pacing also felt a little off to me, but not too bad. I really liked exploring more of the world and spending more time with side characters. I also enjoyed learning more about the history of Imani's people.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

I’m going to really, really try and not make this whole review about how much I love Taha, but I can’t make any promises.

I loved Spice Road and had high expectations for this book and it is safe to say they were exceeded! I found Qayn’s lore very interesting and loved the exploration of magical abuse.

The star of the show for me was Taha, my heart bled for that man from start to finish. I read somewhere ‘you’ll never live a life unburdened by what your father thinks of you’ and it’s so Taha x Bayek coded.

The world-building is rich, the character development is flawless (apart from you, Atheer) and the action is packed. Did I mention the gut-wrenching trauma?

I can’t wait for book 3 but, Maiya, I am begging you to look after Taha - I’m not sure how much more he, or I, can take!